Origins is really good, the only things i'd improve is make side quests more interesting, the combat in general and don't lock off missions for people who just want to run through the story.

I didn't really suffer from the last one but i know people who did and you shouldn't force people to do side quests by making the main quest levels higher level to the point you need to do them to level up.

But the main story and characters involved in that was great, the exploration was a lot of fun and the world was wonderfully designed as well as looking ridiculously good.

So just over 100 hours into this game and I'm pretty sure it's my favorite game of 2018. The main storyline has been good, not great, but quite expansive. I will very likely be playing this game to utter completion. I still have a bunch of cultists and sages to kill, lots of ship upgrades to do, forts, caves and camps to clear, tombs to raid, and will need to defeat all of the mythical beasts on hard mode as well. I find the grind to be very satisfying in this game.

@McLewis wrote:So just over 100 hours into this game and I'm pretty sure it's my favorite game of 2018. The main storyline has been good, not great, but quite expansive. I will very likely be playing this game to utter completion. I still have a bunch of cultists and sages to kill, lots of ship upgrades to do, forts, caves and camps to clear, tombs to raid, and will need to defeat all of the mythical beasts on hard mode as well. I find the grind to be very satisfying in this game.

I have played all the AC main series except for Odyssey and Origins. Where do you rank those two compared to the previous ones and do you recommend them to me?

@McLewis wrote:So just over 100 hours into this game and I'm pretty sure it's my favorite game of 2018. The main storyline has been good, not great, but quite expansive. I will very likely be playing this game to utter completion. I still have a bunch of cultists and sages to kill, lots of ship upgrades to do, forts, caves and camps to clear, tombs to raid, and will need to defeat all of the mythical beasts on hard mode as well. I find the grind to be very satisfying in this game.

I have played all the AC main series except for Odyssey and Origins. Where do you rank those two compared to the previous ones and do you recommend them to me?

For me, I think AC II had the best characters and story of the series and Black Flag broke the mold with the ship battles. Origins and Odyssey both have strong stories, great characters and a well refined ship battle system that appealed to me in a way Black Flag's just didn't. The fight system is a lot more button-mash (similar to Syndicate to me) than previous games, but the RPG-style skill tree in Odyssey is so much fun and the character feels truly powerful as you work through it. Where I am now, I feel like a literal demigod from mythology and that's an awesome feeling that's kept me coming back to the game long after completing the main story.

Beyond that, both are stunning to look at and explore. Ancient Egypt and Greece are incredibly realized with all the detail I'd expect.

Odyssey never appealed to me. Typical of Ubisoft, it looks like a rehash of Origins and since I played Origins to death, even looking at Odyssey doesn't interest me at all. I feel like I've played that game for 70 hours already. And most of the side missions look poor and generic, much like Origins.

I also miss the old AC. While Origins was a breath of fresh air, open world RPG isn't what AC was all about. The emphasis was taken away from assassination to create an open world which you could actually complete the game without being a silent assassin at all.

@danyjr wrote:Odyssey never appealed to me. Typical of Ubisoft, it looks like a rehash of Origins and since I played Origins to death, even looking at Odyssey doesn't interest me at all. I feel like I've played that game for 70 hours already. And most of the side missions look poor and generic, much like Origins.

I also miss the old AC. While Origins was a breath of fresh air, open world RPG isn't what AC was all about. The emphasis was taken away from assassination to create an open world which you could actually complete the game without being a silent assassin at all.

You can play as the silent assassin if you want, the game doesn't force you to do one or another-- it just gives you a choice.

Yeah but I find the basis of the game, as the name suggest, is being an assassin. When an assassin's cover is blown, he is dead. But no, Ubisoft's assassins are capable of wielding two axes at the same time too, taking on a fully armoured Greek brigade. It sure adds variety to those who want to play a combative approach but it takes away the soul of the game in my opinion.

@danyjr wrote:Odyssey never appealed to me. Typical of Ubisoft, it looks like a rehash of Origins and since I played Origins to death, even looking at Odyssey doesn't interest me at all. I feel like I've played that game for 70 hours already. And most of the side missions look poor and generic, much like Origins.

I also miss the old AC. While Origins was a breath of fresh air, open world RPG isn't what AC was all about. The emphasis was taken away from assassination to create an open world which you could actually complete the game without being a silent assassin at all.

Last bit doesn't bother me, but i agree with the rest.

I've played Odyssey but it feels more of the same as Origins but i don't care about the location, story and characters as much.

But I'm obviously in the minority there as most seem to prefer Odyssey.

In all honesty Odyssey is probably a better game than Origins featuring an improved system. But I'm exhausted of it, and as you say I don't find ancient Greece as mysterious and nearly as interesting as ancient Egypt.

I have no real issues being a silent assassin in Odyssey honestly. I just cleared a fort earlier today using pretty much just the Ghost Arrows of Artemis, rush assassinations and hiding bodies. The NPCs never went into investigation mode. The brazier never got lit (sabotaged it in case it did) and I was never seen. It's very doable.

Maybe the perceived lack of emphasis on assassinations has something to do with the lack of a hidden blade, which was replaced by the spear of Leonidas? That's just my take though.

Okay so I've been playing this game quite a bit. I'm level 45 now and I think on Chapter 6 in the main storyline. It is a bigger and grander version of Origins set in Ancient Greece. Thoughts on the game.

The good:

Bigger and grander like I said. I really liked Origins and this game doubled down and made some improvements. The map is huge, and all the regions feel different. Ancient Greece in its prime is a fantastic setting. Beautiful islands, big fuck off statues of ancient gods, stunning architecture, bustling cities etc.

The main storyline is fantastic and the most engaging the series has been since the Ezio trilogy. There are twists and turns, historical figures like Sokrates and Perikles are heavily involved, family being heavily involved makes it really personal. In general, in my opinion I think its really well written.

Side quests are MUCH improved from Origins. There's usually quest lines given by major characters and they have cohesive well written storylines and choices that actually matter. For example, there's a huge completely optional questline in the Silver Islands which was superbly done and had the only good romance in the game so far.

Combat is all right, the upgrades and character levelling are far better this time.

I loved Bayek, best protagonist since Edward and was apprehensive about having a blank RPG protagonist. But nah, I love my Kassandra. Looks like Wonder Woman come to life, voice actress is great, and an absolute badass.

Ship gameplay is here and its fun. Not as deep as Black Flag because obviously this is Ancient Greece and ships were not that technologically advanced. With the limitations they had, they did pretty good with the combat and navigation.

The bad:

Remember when I said bigger and grander? Unfortunately this is Ubisoft. For them that means recycling the same content 20 times over. Remember the question marks in Origins (bandit camps, animal lairs, forts, tombs)? I think they have been quadrupled in this game. Its tiring for people who want to clear all of them. In Origins they had just the right amount but here its ridiculous. I can just ignore them I know, but its still content in the game and that content is downright just boring and monotonous and what Ubi should be called out for. Its what is ruining open world games.

But bigger and grander Ubisoft version just does not stop there. Remember the Phylakes from Origins? Replaced by randomly generated mercenaries that keep on respawning. There is a wanted level so you get a mercenary or five for every little thing you do. And the mercenaries are fucking all seeing and all knowing. You get in a fight with a lone Spartan scrub in the middle of nowhere, mercenaries are gonna come running like The Flash to help them. Even in side quests and main story quests they show up on combat.

"Romances" are laughable. Do quests, choose heart option in convos, kiss, black screen, end. I intentionally chose what I thought were wrong dialogue options for one of the characters and still got to romance her at the end so there's actually zero depth to it. Needless thing they added just to promote the "RPG" aspect of the game to make gamers think they are getting Mass Effect in Ancient Greece.

Lots of randomly generated never ending fetch quests and bounties you get from message board. Completely useless, you can level up just fine from doing actual quests and activities. Just another case of content for the sake of having content.

I recently started playing Odyssey which I picked up at Steam's winter sale and I agree with everything you said.

My main gripe being having tonnes of things to do which are extremely repetitive and not fun at all. I remember having managed to just get all the trophies and achievements for Origins but it was tedious. With this one I'll be shooting myself from insanity towards the end.

@danyjr wrote:I recently started playing Odyssey which I picked up at Steam's winter sale and I agree with everything you said.

My main gripe being having tonnes of things to do which are extremely repetitive and not fun at all. I remember having managed to just get all the trophies and achievements for Origins but it was tedious. With this one I'll be shooting myself from insanity towards the end.

I don't think there is a trophy for completing all the question marks. There is one for fully upgrading your ship which is bit of a grind. If you want that just dismantle all weapons and armor instead of selling to get material. You don't need money for absolutely anything this game.